JOEL.

1 I

2

5

THE word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.

different kinds

different stages

Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in 3 your days, or in the days of your fathers? Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another 4 generation. That which 'the palmerworm hath Probably, left hath 'the locust eaten; and that which of locusts, or the locust hath left hath 'the cankerworm locusts in eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath of growth. left hath 'the caterpiller eaten. Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine; for it is 6 cut off from your mouth. For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and 7 he hath the jaw teeth of a great lion. He hath laid my vine waste, and 'barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it 'away; 8 the branches thereof are made white. Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the 9 husband of her youth. The meal offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD's ministers, 10 mourn. The field is wasted, the land mourneth;

Or, broken

Or, down

for the corn is wasted, the new wine is 'dried Or, ashamed

bandmen are ashamed, the vinedressers

howl

3 Or, elders

1 Or, The hus- up, the oil languisheth. 'Be ashamed, O ye 11
husbandmen, howl, O ye vinedressers, for the
wheat and for the barley; for the harvest of
Or, ashamed the field is perished. The vine is 'withered, 12
and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate
tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree,
even all the trees of the field are withered: for
joy is withered away from the sons of men.
Gird yourselves with sackcloth, and lament, ye 13
priests; howl, ye ministers of the altar; come,
lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my
God for the meal offering and the drink
offering is withholden from the house of your
God. Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, 14
gather the 'old men and all the inhabitants of
the land unto the house of the LORD your God,
and cry unto the LORD. Alas for the day! 15
for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as
destruction from 'the Almighty shall it come.
Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, 16
joy and gladness from the house of our God?
The seeds 'rot under their clods; the garners 17
are laid desolate, the barns are broken down;
for the corn is 'withered. How do the beasts 18
groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, be-
cause they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of
sheep are made desolate. O LORD, to thee 19
do I cry for the fire hath devoured the 'pas-
tures of the wilderness, and the flame hath
burned all the trees of the field. Yea, the 20
beasts of the field pant unto thee: for the
water brooks are dried up, and the fire hath
devoured the 'pastures of the wilderness.

4 Heb. Shaddai.

"Or, shrivel

6 Or, suffer punishment 7 Or, folds

Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound 1 2
an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the in-
habitants of the land tremble: for the day of
the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; a 2
day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds

1

and thick darkness, as the dawn spread upon the mountains; a great people and a strong, there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after them, even to the years of 3 many generations. A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and 4 none hath escaped them. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as 5 'horsemen, so do they run.

horses

3 Or, are not

Like the noise of 1Or, warchariots on the tops of the mountains do they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set 6 in battle array. At their presence the peoples are in anguish all faces are waxed pale. 7 They run like mighty men; they climb the wall like men of war; and they march every one on his ways, and they break not their 8 ranks. Neither doth one thrust another; they march every one in his path: and they burst 2Or, when they through the weapons, and 'break not off their the weapons, fall around 9 course. They leap upon the city; they run they de upon the wall; they climb up into the houses; wounded they enter in at the windows like a thief. 10 The earth quaketh before them; the heavens tremble: the sun and the moon are darkened, II and the stars withdraw their shining: and the LORD uttereth his voice before his army; for his camp is very great; for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? 12 Yet even now, saith the LORD, turn ye unto me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and plenteous

13

1 Or, elders

2 Or, use a byword against them

forepart

4 Or, toward

in mercy, and repenteth him of the evil. Who 14 knoweth whether he will not turn and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meal offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?

Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, 15 call a solemn assembly: gather the people, 16 sanctify the congregation, assemble the old men, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, 17 weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the peoples, Where is their God?

Then was the LORD jealous for his land, 18 and had pity on his people. And the LORD 19 answered and said unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations: but 20 I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren Or, with his and desolate, his forepart into the eastern. sea, and his hinder part 'into the western sea; and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things. Fear not, O land, be glad and rejoice; 21 for the LORD hath done great things. Be 22 not afraid, ye beasts of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. Be glad then, ye children 23 of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he giveth you the former rain in just measure, and he causeth to come down for you

5 Or, in
(or for)
righteousness

1

the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, 24 'in the first month. And the floors shall be Or, at the first full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with 25 wine and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker- See ch. i. 4. worm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, 26 my great army which I sent among you.

And

ye shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and shall praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people 27 shall never be ashamed. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and there is none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.

28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that [Ch. iii. 1 in I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and Heb.] your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young 29 men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days 30 will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, 31 and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon. into blood, before the great and terrible day 32 of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as the LORD hath said, and 'among 3 Or, in the the remnant those whom the LORD doth call. 31 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, [Ch. iv. I in when I shall bring again the captivity of 2 Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into 'the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations,

4

remnant

Heb.]

See ver. 12,